


I Want Your Midnights

by misslantsov



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: F/M, Fluff, New Year's Eve, matching pajamas, time skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28523760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslantsov/pseuds/misslantsov
Summary: Mendel and Trina celebrate New Year's Eve together when they're 17 as best friends until a revelation is made. Fifteen years later, they repeat their tradition with a small addition.Title from New Year's Day by Taylor Swift (Reputation, 2017)
Relationships: Trina/Mendel Weisenbachfeld
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	I Want Your Midnights

Mendel didn’t get invited to a lot of parties. Sure, his friends invited him to hang out, but parties were something he tried his best to avoid. He wasn’t a fan of loud music, crowded rooms, and the amount of substances that were being consumed. So instead of going with his louder (more popular) friends to parties, he would spend the night in with Trina watching a movie and eating snacks in their matching pajamas that their parents had gotten the duo the year prior as a Hanukkah gift (now that the two of them had seemingly stopped growing). So that was how he came to find Trina on his doorstep on 31 December.

He threw open the door and opened his arms for his best friend. “Trina!” he exclaimed, glad that she was also forgoing the party in order to spend time with him. He was mostly grateful that his best friend did just as poorly at parties as he did. It meant that when their other friends went off without him, he didn’t feel as though they had abandoned him.

Trina entered the house and wrapped her arms around Mendel. “Hey, how are you doing today?” she asked, her head on his shoulder as she embraced him.

Mendel wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her close. “I’ve just been making sure that we’ve got a good movie selection and enough snacks to feed us, and waiting for my best friend in the whole world to finally get here!” he replied, pulling back from the hug, the two smiling at each other.

“Sounds like a busy day, sounds like someone needs to change into his pjs and get this party started,” Trina replied, pulling her backpack off and dropping it to the floor so she could remove her mittens, coat, hat, scarf, and boots.

Mendel took the items and hung them up to dry. It was snowing outside, and if it stayed, he hoped that in the morning he could convince Trina to build a snowman with him.

Trina went off to the first-floor bathroom to change into her pjs, and Mendel hurried upstairs to do the same.

By the time he returned, Trina was talking to his mother about the snacks, and Trina was laughing. “Thank you, Mrs. Weisenbachfeld. If Mendel tried to pass the cookies off as his, I don’t think I’d believe him,” she said.

Mendel shook his head. “You know that I’ve gotten better because I took the class at school, right? I got an 87 in it. My cookies wouldn’t kill you, Trina,” he replied.

Trina shrugged. “They wouldn’t kill me, but they wouldn’t be as aesthetically pleasing as your mother’s,” she said, stepping back as he approached her to tickle her sides.

“You didn’t seem to complain when I gave you free food every day,” he replied, his arms going around her waist.

“Why would anyone complain about free food?” she asked. “I’m human and I like food.”

Mendel took her hand and grabbed the tray of snacks, Trina grabbing the plate of cookies and they went into the living room. “So, we have non-alcoholic sparkly apple juice for when the new year hits, and we have non sparkly apple juice for the rest of the night,” he said.

Since the two of them had become best friends as children, they had used their mutual love of apple juice to team up and make it their mission to drink as much apple juice as possible. Their love for the juice was not a joke.

Trina smiled at Mendel and sat down on the floor by the fire where Mendel had set up a pile of blankets and throw pillows in a spot where they could still see the TV. “Sounds perfect, what movie are we watching first?” she asked.

Mendel sat down across from her and pulled the stack of DVDs down to the floor. “Okay, so we have _Frozen_ , _Frozen II_ , all of the _Star Wars_ movies, _Beauty and the Beast_ both animated and live action, _Moana_ , and basically every other movie that you know I have, you’re here enough,” he replied, looking to his best friend to make the call.

Trina thought for a moment before selecting _Frozen_. “After we watch the first one, we can watch the second,” she said. While all of their other friends had ‘grown up’ and were watching movies with explosions and action sequences, Mendel and Trina were still stuck in their Disney obsession. Yes, _technically_ _Star Wars_ counted as action, but it was okay. Disney owned _Star Wars_ , and it was one of the few movies series that they could all watch as a group without a fight starting.

Mendel jumped up and put the DVD into the player before going back to join Trina on the floor. She wrapped him up in the blanket that she was using and Mendel felt himself flush.

He _loved_ Trina. More than just as a best friend, but in the way that a boy loves his girlfriend, the woman he knows will be his wife one day. He loved her, and she didn’t know that he loved her. He wouldn’t make things awkward between the two of them by revealing his affection for her. Besides, it wouldn’t do anything good for them, she liked Marvin. It didn’t matter to her that Marvin was gay and didn’t care about her as more than a friend. She’d been looking at the grumpy boy with love in her eyes since they were 12.

The pair watched _Frozen,_ then _Frozen II_ , then _Moana_ , replenishing their snacks between the films before Mendel’s alarm for 11:45PM went off and he noticed that he and Trina were almost entwined with one another. His arms were around her, and she was half-laying between his legs, her hands on his arms, holding her to him while her head rested on his chest. He wanted to stay like this forever, but alas, he had to make sure that everything was perfect for midnight.

“Fifteen to, let’s take a break. I’ll get the sparkly apple juice out of the fridge. It’s fancy and there is a cork, so let’s hope that we both come out of this unscathed,” Mendel said.

Trina rolled her eyes playfully. “I will handle the cork, Mendel, it’s the only way to survive this,” she said.

Mendel shrugged. “Okay, then fine. I’m going upstairs to grab something,” he said, untangling himself from his best friend and going up the stairs.

Trina stood up and went into the kitchen to get the sparkly juice from the fridge. Mendel’s parents had gone to a party that one of Mr. Weisenbachfeld’s colleagues was having, and the two of them were alone in the house.

She couldn’t help but think how comfy it had been in Mendel’s arms. Sure, she had always felt safe and secure with him, and they did occasionally snuggle, but never like that. Yes, she liked him, more than she was willing to tell him. He didn’t like her like that, and she thought he might be gay. He’d never shown interest in girls before, and always tried to get her to talk about boys, and everyone else in their friend group was queer in one way or another. Marvin and Whizzer were gay, Charlotte and Cordelia were lesbians, and she was bisexual. Mendel couldn’t possibly be straight, right?

She’d liked him since they were children, even though she hadn’t known at five years old what it meant when she stood up to his bullies, turned pink when he called her pretty, and wanted to spend all her time with him. She was sure that if he liked her back, he would have said something by now, right? It didn’t matter in the end. She didn’t want to lose her best friend, and if someone else would make him happy, she would walk on hot coals to get that person for him.

When Mendel returned, he checked his phone. “We’ve got just under three minutes. Anything we want to say about what we want in the new year or whatever?” he asked, unwrapping the foil from the juice.

Trina shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m kind of scared. This year we graduate, and we’ll be going off to college, and I’m nervous that I won’t get into the same school as you,” she said. “What if we lose touch? What if you find better friends and don’t miss me? I can’t lose you.”

Mendel frowned and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re not going to lose me, I promise. Wherever I end up, it will be at the same school as you, we’re still going to be best friends, I promise,” he said.

Trina nodded and smiled at him lightly. “You’re everything to me,” she whispered softly, pressing her forehead against his.

Mendel smiled and cupped her cheek. “You’re everything to me,” he replied, pulling himself away and checking his phone again. “Ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven-“

“I love you,” she blurted out.

Mendel froze before leaning in to press his lips to hers. It was quick and imperfect but when he pulled back, he smiled. “I love you too.”

Trina flushed lightly and bit her lip. “Um, happy new year, Mendel,” she said, her voice quiet. She couldn’t believe that Mendel liked her in the way that she liked him. Or maybe he had meant a different kind of love and he didn’t love her like that. But he kissed her, which was probably a good sign, right?

“Happy New Year, Trina,” he said, passing her the bottle of apple juice so she could pop the cork from it. Trina grabbed a butterknife and used it to pop the cork before pouring it into the glasses that his parents had left out for them. They clinked their glasses in silence and took their first sips of the juice. “I meant it, in case you’re worried. I really do love you.”

Trina turned a brighter shade of pink, unsure of what to say. She was glad that he loved her, but it really only increased her fear of losing him. She had to fix this. If they loved each other, they should be together, and she knew that if she ever started dating Mendel, she would never leave. This was the man she would want to marry. “I’m really serious, Mendel. I’ve loved you for years, I’ve loved you for so long that I can barely remember a time before my heart belonged to you. I’m scared of losing you, and if we start something, I’m all in, my heart will be in your hands,” she said, moving to the sofa to sit down. She didn’t want to be standing if he took it all back, if he didn’t want her.

Mendel nodded and joined her on the sofa, taking her glass and putting it on the table with his own. He took her hands gently and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “I’m all in, Trina. Loving you is all I really want to do. I never want to hurt you, I just want to see you smile and be happy because I love you. I think I’ve probably loved you since we were about eight and I got you that bear because I was sad that I couldn’t always be right beside you making sure that nothing hurt you. Do you really want to be my girlfriend?” he asked, his eyes on hers.

Trina gazed into his eyes, seeing how full of joy and hope they were. She loved him, he loved her, and he wanted to be with her. It was more than she had ever hoped for, and it was the best beginning to a year ever. With Mendel by her side, this year would be wonderful. She nodded happily, her words sticking in her throat for a moment. “Yes, yes please,” she finally managed to say, shifting closer to him and putting her head on his shoulder.

Mendel smiled and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to him. “Why was I ever scared of making the first move?” he asked. “I was so scared that if I told you that you’d just walk away, never talk to me again, hate me forever. I feel terrible for thinking those things of you.”

Trina shrugged and cuddled closer to him. “I was scared too. Believe me, I didn’t think you’d ever want me too. I had similar thoughts and I feel terrible for thinking them too,” she whispered.

Mendel sat up fully, taking his new girlfriend with him. “So that first kiss wasn’t everything that a girl dreams about, and I’m sorry, but I think we can get some practice in, if you want to?” he offered, tilting his head.

Trina nodded. “But we should put a movie on in the background in case your parents come home. I don’t really want them catching us making out on the sofa,” she replied.

Mendel nodded. “Fair enough. _Beauty and the Beast_?” he asked.

Trina nodded eagerly. “We should stick to movies that we know by heart in case we have to hurriedly stop making out and focus. That way we’re not wondering where we’re at,” she said.

Mendel shrugged and popped the DVD into the player before going back to the sofa and sitting down. “Come here beautiful,” he said, patting his lap.

Trina swallowed and flushed again. No boy had ever called her beautiful before, and she loved the sound of it coming from. She climbed into his lap, her knees on either side of his thighs. She couldn’t help but think that her father would kill her if he saw her like this, but it was okay. He wouldn’t.

Mendel cupped her face in his and slowly drew her to him, their lips finding each other.

For about an hour, the two went back and forth from kissing to drinking their sparkly apple juice. It was a good time.

When their friends called to wish them a happy new year after the party they were at finished, Trina’s head rested on Mendel’s shoulder. This should have maybe been an indication to their friends that something had changed, but the two of them had always been cuddly together. When the call was over, Mendel put his phone back down and pulled his girlfriend back onto his lap.

“You didn’t tell them,” Trina whispered, her mouth on his jaw.

Mendel shook his head. “Neither did you. I just wanted it to be only ours for now. I love you, and I’m not ready to share my love for you with our friends. It belongs to us,” he whispered.

Trina nodded, her teeth grazing his stubble. “I agree,” she whispered, her mouth moving to his neck.

Mendel’s hands moved to her waist. “Trina, princess, I love what you’re doing to me, but you’re going to have to stop before-“

Trina pulled back and looked down. “Yeah, your pjs are looking a little tight there, handsome,” she whispered. “And no, we’re not doing that yet.”

Mendel nodded. “I know. I’m certainly not ready for it yet, and I wouldn’t ask that of you when we’ve been a couple for less than two hours. It’ll go away, let’s just focus on the movie for a little bit,” he whispered, his thumb stroking her waist.

Trina climbed off him and cuddled into his embrace, her eyelids getting a bit heavy.

Eventually, Mendel laid down on the sofa, Trina spooning him from behind. Soon after, the pair dozed off, missing the texts from Mendel’s mom letting them know that they were on their way home, wondering if the two of them were still awake. The lack of response was all the answer the Weisenbachfelds needed.

When Mendel’s parents entered the house, being as quiet as they could be, they snuck into the living room, seeing the pair cuddled together. They got to work tidying up, putting away the few remaining snacks, turning off the movie, and putting a blanket over the two of them before taking a picture on Mrs. Weisenbachfeld’s phone and leaving the scene. They had so many pictures of their son and his best friend sleeping side by side and snuggling from the time they were 5, and it was probably enough for a decent album. They were none the wiser about the change in the relationship of the pair.

<3

Mendel entered the living room, carrying a bottle of sparkling apple juice and two champagne flutes. “Happy New Year, my love,” he said, putting the bottle down and pulling his wife into his arms.

The two still didn’t go out to big parties with their friends, especially on their anniversary which really saved them on the biggest night of the year, for which they were grateful.

Trina smiled and put her head on his shoulder. “Can you believe that we started dating fifteen years ago?” she asked.

Mendel shook his head. “Can you believe that it’s taken us this long to be ready to have a baby? We’ve been married for ten years,” he said, his hand dropping to the small bump that was barely visible unless you knew it was there.

Trina smiled. “Well, we only just finished paying off the last of your student loans last year and we’ve spent this year saving everything, except for our trip to Paris and now we’re financially stable enough to be okay with only one of us working,” she replied. The two of them had decided that it would be best for Trina to take at least a couple years off once they had the baby. It would save them money on childcare, and give her a break from working.

She’d started working at the library right out of college, and with ten years and a stellar record under her belt, they promised to take her back when she was ready to return. She’d supported the two of them while Mendel was in medical school and he was ready to have his turn as the breadwinner of the family.

The pair settled down on the carpet, the fireplace off to the side, Trina sitting between Mendel’s legs, her fingers running along the material of his pajama pants. They still had the matching pajamas that they had been given 16 years ago, and they reserved them for New Year’s Eve.

Mendel’s hands moved to the small bump and he pressed a kiss to Trina’s head. “Next year we’ll have an infant to share this cuddle pile with,” he whispered, shifting to kiss her neck.

Trina nodded. “Just imagine how often we’ll use the baby as an excuse to get out of doing things,” she replied, turning her head to take her husband’s lips.

Mendel laughed slightly. “Well yeah, but our friends rarely ask us to go to things because we hate doing things, but for those times that they ask and it sounds boring or loud, the little one will be the perfect excuse,” he replied, his hand moving to Trina’s hair and tangling his fingers in it.

“I love you so much, and I can’t wait to see what our little one gets from you,” she whispered.

Mendel shook his head. “Ah, she’s going to look just like you. And she’ll be spoiled by her daddy,” he replied, kissing his wife.

Trina rolled her eyes. “You know I’m going to stop you, right?”

Mendel laughed. “Well, I can’t say no to you either, so that’s going to be the real challenge of my life,” he replied.

Trina’s alarm went off and she groaned. “Five minutes to the new year,” she whispered, taking one last kiss from her husband before getting up and going to take the foil from the bottle.

Mendel followed his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting on the bump again. “I love you and our baby more than anything in this life,” he whispered against her hair, holding her close to him.

Trina smiled. “And I love the two of you more than anything in this life,” she replied, watching her clock on her phone slowly tick away the minutes to the new year.

“Any last confessions of this year?” he asked.

Trina smiled. “I love you, and I’m glad that I told you that fifteen years ago. You’ve changed my life and made me happier than I could have ever hoped for.”

Mendel smiled lightly. “Thank you for taking that first leap, I know it was hard for you, but I am so very grateful for you. Thank you for loving me, and letting me love you, and thank you for blessing us with a child,” he whispered, his lips finding hers.

They could hear the fireworks in the distance (far enough that it didn’t bother them), and Trina popped open the juice, pouring it for them. They raised their glasses and smiled at one another, happy that nothing had changed in those fifteen years since they had fallen in love.

“Happy new year, Mendel.”

“Happy new year, Trina.”


End file.
